James Belcher

Senior Controls Engineer & Automation Expert

Richmond, VA

jamesbel@gmail.com

LinkedIn Profile

Over 30 years of experience in industrial automation, SCADA systems, robotics, and controls engineering across nuclear, petrochemical, manufacturing, and transit industries. Expert in PLC programming, HMI development, motion control, and machine vision systems.

30+

Years Experience

50+

Major Projects

Companies

ITAC Corporation - Senior Controls Programmer

April 2023 - July 2024

Filter Magic IQ System with Z2W OptimizationAdvanced water filtration control system with real-time optimization
Integrated data collection and visualization pipeline

                                    Bosch Rexroth CtrlX Core PLC
                                    Node-RED
                                    InfluxDB
                                    Grafana
                                

Ameriskid Ceramic Ultrafiltration SystemIndustrial ceramic membrane ultrafiltration system
Variable frequency drive integration for pump control

                                    Bosch Rexroth CtrlX Core
                                    Cerafiltec Ceramics
                                    EFC VFD Drives
                                

Industrial Control Systems - Lead Controls Engineer

May 2018 - January 2023

ICS Remote Customer Monitor SystemDeveloped Secure Remote Customer Monitoring system for maintenance and upgrades for remote customer facilities
Enabled secure access for troubleshooting and system updates

                                    Secomea
                                    Secure Remote Access
                                    Encrypted VPN
                                

Filter Magic IQ Vision SystemSCADA acquisition system for Water/Wastewater Facilities
Backwash Monitoring System with visual inspection capabilities

                                    Machine Vision
                                    VTScada
                                    Water/Wastewater
                                

HSQ Technology - Senior Controls Engineer

August 2014 - April 2016

Major Transit Expansion SCADA Control SystemComplex SCADA control system for multiple stations and train control houses
System used multiple Rockwell L72 CPU and Flex IO with 5000+ I/O points

                                    Rockwell ControlLogix
                                    FactoryTalk
                                    SCADA
                                    Flex I/O
                                

RIDS - Railway Intruder Detection SystemVirtualized OpenVMS based control system to detect fence intrusions along train right of way
Integrated motion sensors and thermal vision cameras
Over 1100 sensors and 16000+ I/O points

                                    OpenVMS
                                    Thermal Cameras
                                    Motion Detection
                                

InMotion Robotics LLC - Senior Controls Engineer

August 2012 - July 2014

Water Heater Robotic Line Upgrade

Upgraded manual assembly line to full robotic system with machine vision
High speed water heater spud weld process while maintaining safe manual operation capability

ABB IRB-6640 ABB IRB-140 GuardLogix Cognex Vision

Automated Fuel Pump Assembly System

Weld cell to assemble and weld fuel pump bellow assemblies
Vision verification of proper weld quality

ABB IRB-120 CompactLogix Cognex Insight

Automatic Accumulating Conveyor Upgrade

Upgraded existing accumulator conveyor system for range packaging line
Tight schedule: only 1 week during plant shutdown to install and commission

Rockwell L72 PowerFlex 525 VFD

Secure Remote M2M Monitoring System

Secure web-based HMI and production monitoring for windshield defrost cells
Multi-site deployment: Tennessee (2) and Mexico (2)

Secomea M2M MicroLogix 1500 Web HMI

Automated Laser Core Deflection Measuring System

Automated measurement of large-format radiator core assemblies

MicroLogix 1100 C-more HMI Laser Measurement

Aquilex Corp - Principal Controls Engineer

October 1998 - July 2012

PAIRS - Pipe Automated Inspecting, Welding and Repair SystemAutomated remote pipe MIG repair for on-site underground refinery piping
Work performed at operational refinery
Sick 3D machine vision for scanning
Extremely short design and build schedule

                                    Yaskawa Motion
                                    Schneider PLC
                                    CODESYS
                                    Sick 3D Vision
                                

Alloy 600 Repair Welding and Machining SystemRemote automated TIG and MIG welding and machining for nuclear weld repair
Operators operated the system over two miles from reactor over fiber optics

                                    Phoenix Contact
                                    Schneider Momentum
                                    Fiber Optics
                                

Midwall Automated Welding and Machining System

Automated TIG welding and machining for reactor control rod nozzle repair

Phoenix Contact HMI Schneider Momentum

CANDU Reactor Coolant Piping Repair Weld System

Complex geometry TIG welding for CANDU reactor coolant lines

Yaskawa Motion Servo Control

STARS High Pressure Cleaning System

Remote automated high pressure cleaning for refinery tubesheet cleaning

Yaskawa Motion Steeplechase PC

Welding Services (WSI)

1998 - 2004

Spent Fuel Canister Weld SystemAutomated TIG welding process for spent fuel canister lid welds for nuclear industry

                                    Siemens S7-200
                                    TP 270 HMI
                                    TIG Welding
                                

PLC Mig Automated Weld SystemAutomated MIG weld metal overlay for boilers and vessels
Used in petrochemical plants and refineries

                                    Siemens S7-300
                                    TP 170 HMI
                                    MIG Welding
                                

Mag Particle Automated Inspection System

Automated Magnetic Particle Inspection of Spent Fuel Canister Welds

Siemens S7-200 NDT Inspection

Remote Video Weld Control Console

Automated TIG welding for remote video welding applications
Nuclear, petrochemical, and refining industries

Siemens S7-300 Remote Video

Tube Overlay Weld System

Automated tube MIG overlay for manufacture of pre-overlay boilers

Siemens S7-300 MIG Overlay

Framatome - Field Service Engineer

May 1994 - October 1998

Narrow Groove Welding System InterfaceSystem to operate and control automated welding machine for remote video welding
Steam generator replacement primary piping welds

                                    Liburdi GTV
                                    Custom PCB
                                    Remote Video
                                

EDM Control System

Remote EDM system interface console for Handsvedt EDM machine
Custom PCB controls interface

EDM Custom PCB

Underwater Laser Measurement Inspection System

Optically correct measurements from live underwater video
Custom PCB controls interface

Laser Measurement Underwater Systems Custom PCB

McDean Inc. - Technical Specialist IV

August 2025 - Present

Subject matter expert for SCADA and water technology projects
Lead programming/SCADA SME working closely with management and customers for various projects

Quality Technology Services (QTS) - DCIM III Engineer

July 2024 - August 2025

Lead DCIM engineer for Richmond VA RIC3 datacenter campus and support DCIM resource for RIC1 Campus
Managed data center infrastructure projects, including new construction and maintaining facility uptime
Developed leading candidate prototypes for Universal Protocol Gateway for modular datacenter subsystems

ITAC Corporation - Senior Controls Programmer

April 2023 - July 2024

Developed code and applications for Water Technology and Power System products
Lead Design Engineer for the Filter Magic IQ system with Z2W optimization
Lead Design Engineer for the Ameriskid Ceramic Ultrafiltration System

Bosch Rexroth Corporation - Application Engineer

January 2023 - April 2023

Provided application and software support for Bosch Rexroth customers in Florida region
Assisted with conversion of legacy code of older production motion control systems

Industrial Control Systems - Lead Controls Engineer

May 2018 - January 2023

Filter Magic Product Line - Led application and technology improvements
SCADA Solutions - Lead developer of VTScada as flagship SCADA solution
IQ System & IQ Vision - Developer of the IQ System and IQ Vision system
Remote Maintenance Access - Developed system for existing and new Filter customer base

Blueprint Automation - Senior Controls Engineer

May 2016 - May 2018

Delta Robot Packaging Systems - Lead Controls Engineer for Rockwell-based Delta Robot single and multi-cell packaging systems
Modular Coding Standards - Instrumental in developing new modular coding standards

HSQ Technology - Senior Controls Engineer

August 2014 - April 2016

Major Transit Expansion SCADA - Developed multi-station SCADA control system for mass transit expansion (Rockwell ControlLogix PLC and FactoryTalk HMI)
RIDS Railway Intruder Detection - Lead architect/engineer for integrated railroad intruder detection system for HSQ SCADA system

InMotion Robotics LLC - Senior Controls Engineer

August 2012 - July 2014

Automated Pressure Vessel Manufacturing Cell - Integrated ABB robots, Rockwell ControlLogix PLCs, and Cognex vision
Automated Pump Manufacturing Cell - ABB robot systems with Rockwell CompactLogix and Cognex Vision
Automated Accumulating Conveyor Systems - Rockwell ControlLogix PLCs and networked AB PowerFlex 525 VFDs
Automated Laser Deflection Measurement System
Remote Machine SCADA Process Data Logging System

Aquilex (formerly Welding Services WSI)

October 1998 - July 2012

PAIRS - Pipe Automated Inspecting, Welding and Repair System
Weld Automation Expert - Key Company Subject Matter Expert on weld metal overlay automation
Remote Video/Machining/Inspection - Extensive background in Remote Video Welding, Machining, and Inspection Automation
Alloy 600 Weld Overlay Systems - Lead Controls Engineer for development
PLCMIG Automation Systems - Lead Controls Engineer for PLCMIG and derivatives
Capital Development - Controls development for dozens of project and capital development systems including PCB design and embedded microprocessor development

Framatome - Field Service Engineer

May 1994 - October 1998

Field Welding & Machining Systems - Designed and manufactured various field welding and machining automation modules
Field Support - Provided maintenance and field support of automated welding machines (Arc Machines, Dimetrics, and internally developed systems)

Software & AI Development

GOPLC - Custom PLC runtime with IEC 61131-3 Structured Text, web-based IDE, and multi-protocol support
Industrial Protocol Suite - Modbus Client/Server, Omron FINS Client & Server, EtherNet/IP Adapter & Scanner
ScanForge - AI-powered trading analysis platform with backtesting and market scanning
Item Analyzer - Computer vision and AI-based product analysis system for market research
Smart Organizer - Inventory management system with image recognition and cataloging
Design Automation - Custom scripting and automation tools for engineering workflows
Technologies - Python, Go, REST APIs, Docker, Claude AI, Machine Learning integration

PLC Programming

Rockwell ControlLogix / CompactLogix / GuardLogix
Siemens S7-200 / S7-300 / S7-1500
Schneider Momentum / M340
Phoenix Contact
Allen-Bradley MicroLogix

HMI / SCADA

FactoryTalk View
VTScada
Siemens TP Series HMI
Phoenix Contact HMI
Automation Direct C-more
Web-based HMI Development

Robotics & Motion

ABB Robots (IRB-120, IRB-140, IRB-6640)
Delta Robot Systems
Yaskawa Motion Controllers & Servos
AB PowerFlex VFDs

Machine Vision

Cognex Insight Vision Systems
Sick 3D Machine Vision
Thermal Vision Cameras
Laser Measurement Systems

Industrial Protocols

EtherNet/IP
Modbus TCP/RTU
PROFINET / PROFIBUS
DeviceNet
Fiber Optic Communications

Specialized Industries

Nuclear Power Generation
Petrochemical & Refining
Mass Transit Systems
Manufacturing & Assembly
Welding Automation (TIG, MIG, Overlay)

Hardware Design

Custom PCB Design
Embedded Microprocessor Development
Control Panel Design
Remote/Underwater Systems

Software & Development

CODESYS
Structured Text (IEC 61131-3)
Ladder Logic
Function Block Diagram
M2M / IoT Integration

Education

Virginia Western Community College

Roanoke, VA (ABET Accredited)

Associate in Applied Science

Electrical Engineering Technology

Class of 1991

U.S. Patent

Apparatus and Method for Automatically Performing Weld Operations Using Computer Vision

US 7,560,662 B2 WO 2008021882

Multi-axis motion control system with automatic torch positioning and real-time seam tracking for nuclear manufacturing environments.

View Patent on Google Patents

Professional Portfolio

GitHub Profile — Open source industrial automation projects, protocol implementations, and AI integration tools
LinkedIn Profile — Professional network and recommendations